There is a 10-feet high bust of Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, the
legendary alto saxophone player in his hometown of Kansas City, Kan. On
March 30 Parker’s spirited presence became a mainstay in Harlem as he
was inducted into the Apollo Theater’s Apollo Walk of Fame.

Since 1993, Parker’s significant contribution to jazz and his
continued influence on generations of musicians is celebrated in Harlem
(Marcus Garvey Park) and on the Lower East Side during the annual
outdoor summer festival named in his honor.

After relocating from Kansas City, he called Harlem his second home.
He could always be found gigging at Minton’s Playhouse, the Savoy
Ballroom, Small’s Paradise and the Apollo Theater. His funeral in 1955
was held at Abyssinian Baptist Church, and the service was officiated by
the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

On April 1 and April 3, the Apollo Theater and Opera Philadelphia are
partnering to present “Charlie Parker’s Yardbird” in its New York
premiere. The co-production will mark the first time an opera will be
performed on the Apollo Theater stage, and the first time Opera
Philadelphia will play New York.

Set in the storied Birdland Jazz Club (then located on West 52nd
Street) on March 12, 1955, the day Parker died, the opera invites
audiences into the saxophonist’s psyche as he composes his final
masterpiece, and revisits the inspirations and women who fueled his
creative genius.

The New York premiere reunites Lawrence Brownlee, the tenor in the
lead role as the legendary jazz saxophonist, with soprano Angela Brown
as his mother, Addie Parker, and baritone Will Liverman debuts as
trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. The music is by Daniel Schnyder, libretto by
Bridgette A. Wimberly and direction by Ron Daniels.